University of Stirling swimmer and Commonwealth Games medallist, Cameron Brodie, was at the forefront of British student sport this weekend after being selected as the Great Britain and Northern Ireland flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the 29th FISU Summer World University Games 2017 in Chinese Taipei.
The Scottish swimmer was the official representative of the GB team when the World University Games (WUGS) got underway with a celebratory welcome at Taipei Stadium on Saturday.
Brodie, 24, is making his second WUGS appearance having competed two years ago in Gwangju and will be looking to star in both the 100m and 200m butterfly events.
A two-time Commonwealth Games representative and part of the Scottish team which won silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay final on home soil in 2014, Brodie has also medalled regularly at domestic level.
Winner of the 200m butterfly title at the 2015 British Championships, he added another silver earlier this year in Sheffield behind Olympian James Guy and will be looking to use the WUGS to qualify for Team Scotland’s 2018 Commonwealth Games team.
The International Sports Scholarship Programme (ISSP) athlete also recently graduated with a Masters in sports management and spoke of his pride at being handed the duty of flag bearer.
He said: “What an honour, it came as a total surprise. To get the call, ahead of so many incredible athletes – I was a little bit in awe of them, the fact that I got to lead them all out at the Opening Ceremony – I was buzzing for it.”
“I’ve never been to an Opening Ceremony before, so it was a new experience and to be flag bearer was be even better.”
Held biennially in major cities across the globe, the World University Games sees athletes come together to compete across 22 sports with the Summer Universiade the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympics.
At the last Games, Team GB recorded its biggest medal haul in ten years, with 12 per cent of athletes medalling – a total of 11 podium finishes split between three gold, four silver and four bronze.
Over 110 athletes will represent GB at this year’s Games which run from August 19-30 with Brodie one of 16 swimmers in the squad.
A mature professional who is well adapted to the racing environment, Brodie trains in the pool for up to 20 hours a week while also setting an example to those around him, young and old.
Andy Hibbert, GB Chef de Mission said: “Cameron is a fantastic representative for Great Britain and I am delighted he was been chosen as our flag bearer for Taipei 2017. He embodies the values of our team and is a role model for younger athletes on the team.”